I picked this up during the autumn steam sale…and I must say this is the first game I’ve really enjoyed since Borderlands 2.
There isn’t much “game” to it, but the story is fantastic. The quick time events are dumb, but they aren’t really that frequent, and there is no compelling way to incorporate QTE’s into games anyways.
The fact that you’re usually screwed no matter what dialogue choices you choose is another element that entitles me to a sense of freedom. Damned if you, damned if you don’t.
Without giving too much away it’s…bittersweet. It’s well worth playing, though. Some great moments, particularly a bit of Lee’s badassery towards the end.
If you’ve played Episode 4 you know that there’s no happy ending for Lee.
For those who have played Episode 5 until the end, did you cut Lee’s arm off, and did you get Clem to finish you off? I did, on both counts. Can’t let Clem think of me coming back as a walker.
I kept Lee’s arm intact reasoning that removal would not grant a reprieve and that I needed what strength I had to rescue Clem. At the end of the game I was cuffed to the radiator and told Clem to leave. No reason for her to shoot me.
Just finished episode 5, shedding tears at the end. I’ve never been so emotionally attached to a video game before – it’s really remarkable and has me a bit gobsmacked.
I’ve even been replaying some of the decisions I made over and over again in my head, and for some reason leaving Lilly on the side of the road in episode 3 sticks out to me. I did it, and immediately got a huge knot in my stomach.
Don’t feel too bad, if you take her with you she steals the RV and leaves you with the train.
One of the decisions I thought about for a while was whether to take Clem to Crawford. On the one side I didn’t want her to leave my sight after nearly getting chomped at the beginning of Ep 4 and following me to the dock. But I thought it was just far too dangerous, even if in metagame terms I knew she would be all right.
Anyone else disappointed that Molly didn’t appear in Ep 5? I was expecting her to extract Kenny from his sticky situation, but alas no. She even gave me a hug!
I loved the game, but have no interest in replaying it. I was invested in all of the characters, warts and all (Kenny’s a hothead and we fought, but I still like him), so it’d feel like a bit of a betrayal to go back and re-make decisions based on fuller knowledge than I had at the time; e.g. “I don’t know a lot about character X, but I just don’t trust/like him, so I’m going to save character Y instead”.
Having said that, I can’t wait for the next series of episodes.
I let Ben die in Episode 4. The walkers were coming, he was begging me to let him go, and I was scared and wanted to get out of there, so I dropped him. Thinking about it later, I realized that if they’re giving me a choice, then I surely could have saved him without dying myself. And that I was kinda tired of his whining and cowardly ways. Fundamentally, I didn’t want him around anymore, and when given a chance, I let him die.
Also, at the end of Episode 5
I made Clem kill me. I didn’t want anyone else stumbling across me and getting hurt later on. Then I realized that was how I’d played the entire game. I killed both brothers in Ep 2, cause I didn’t want them doing to others what they tried to do to us, for example.
I just finished today. Wow. That was heavy. One of the best video game experiences I’ve had though.
This game has joined the very, very small list of video games that have made me cry. During that final scene with Lee and Clementine, I just lost it. That poor little girl losing the last parental figure she had, Lee not even having enough life left in him to tell her everything she needed to keep herself safe. I didn’t ask her to shoot me, even though I didn’t want Lee to become a walker. I just couldn’t put her through that, not after everything else she’d suffered.
I did have Lee’s arm amputated, but I didn’t expect it to work. I figured that the chance of survival was better than a guaranteed death sentence. I guess it doesn’t matter whether Lee died of the actual bite or from complications from the amputation. Once he got bitten, I knew he wasn’t getting a happy ending.
I was expecting Lily to show up again before the end of the game, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns up next season (I took her with us and she stole the RV). I’m also guessing that Lee’s final words to Clementine will effect future episodes as well.
I feel like the game was significantly better written than both the comic and the show. Some of that may be because the game puts you in control and forces you to make the tough decisions, really using the interactivity to excellent effect. The same story, played out in print or even video format wouldn’t have had the same impact.
The developers did a masterful job with the pacing and everything, building and releasing tension. Then, from time to time, they let five cents worth of achievements ruin things. Every now and then, there would be a well executed scene that quite effectively shocked me, and then an achievement would pop up and completely take me out of the moment.
For example (Season 2 spoiler):
Larry’s death. Here I am, trying to resuscitate this insufferable asshole, give him one last chance instead of letting Kenny summarily execute him, and then his head gets crushed by a salt lick. I stared at the screen, mouth agape, just as shocked as Lee would have been in that situation. A masterful job, Telltale. Then the “Too Much Salt Will Kill You” achievement pops up on the screen and the moment is ruined. Like emptying a packet of store-brand ketchup on a plate of poutine.
I know, but it’s a crying shame that they were obligated to put in worthless, token achievements and let them undercut the emotional intensity they worked so hard to achieve. Steam and XBL should have options to disable achievement notifications or something.
If we want games to mature as a medium, this is one of the things we’re going to have to manage more elegantly. Imagine if the words “PUT ON 3D GLASSES NOW” flashed on the screen during the final , soul crushing scenes of Requiem for a Dream.
But I recognize that you’re not arguing for the achievements, just explaining their presence.
I got pretty weepy in a couple of spots, which is something that I think has only happened for me once before in a game (Bioshock “good” ending). The ending definitely left me wanting more, so I’ll be looking out for the next season.
I agree that some of the QTE were awkward and silly, but, I think the urgency they gave was an important ingredient to the overall tension of the experience. If it hadn’t been for those, and the need to pay attention for your window of opportunity to get a good dialog response, I wouldn’t have been quite as attentive and therefore would have been less impacted by the drama unfolding in front of me.
Just played and finished this over the last couple of days. Amazing writing. It had the tone of the setting exactly right. I think the last time I cared about game characters this much was when I played Mass Effect.
Hope you can forgive the bump. There’s a new DLC out for Season 1 - The Walking Dead: 400 Days. It’s centred on a truckstop from day 1 of the outbreak to 400 days after, with 5 interwoven stories.
Steam’s description intrigues the hell outta me - I was initially confuddled why Telltale would go back to Season 1, which seemed about as done as done can be, only to read:
“Echoes of the choices you made in Season 1 will carry over into ‘400 Days’ and the choices you make in ‘400 Days’ will resonate into Season 2.”
So it seems like it’s a bridging DLC. I’m downloading it now; will let you know my feelings having loved Season 1. Reviews so far seem to be good, though.
It’s good. Not as great as Season 1, but there’s some great characterization, as usual, and it’s a good setup for Season 2. It’s pretty short, lasting about 90 minutes. To quote Yahtzee Croshaw: “I’ve spent a lot more money for things that were shorter than that.”
It’s well worth the 5 dollars, but it’s really whet my appetite for Season 2 now, so I hope it’s not far off.
Yep, it’s good. Although damn, did we need to see poor Carley like that? RIP - Rot in Peace.
Also good to hear that things went up shit creek for Vernon, the robbing shit. That black fella with the big hair is definitely gonna be in Season 2, possibly as a main antagonist - he’s in the background of Episode 5 and turns up here. Shel’s episode was definitely my favourite.
Who do you think the group at the end is? Is Tavia trustworthy? I got everyone at the end to follow her, anyway. Most importantly - is Clem there, with Omid/Christa…Kenny?
Is it worth the heartache? Or is it like…nothing good comes of it?